Features

The U.S. wind industry supply chain anxiously awaits political resolution to the production tax credit issue. Acciona, a Spanish energy specialist, opened its first North American facility in the heart of U.S. wind country in West Branch, Iowa, in December 2007 with the plan of providing turbines to wind farms in North America, primarily those operated by Acciona Energy.

Q & A with John Gardner, Novelis’ chief sustainability officer

For the third year in a row, the Golden State leads the field in our annual index of sustainability. How territories and companies work together to manage resources and reduce their footprints while still remaining economically productive will determine whether that finding is prophetic or a catalyst for some very quick changes.

Volkswagen’s global head of factory planning explains how the company’s Tennessee site facilitated LEED-Platinum certification. In late March Volkswagen announced it would add 800 more jobs to the payroll at its new plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Steve Ostrenga believes it’s time for some fairness in solar manufacturing. Ostrenga is CEO of Milwaukee-

In laboratories around the world, researchers are racing to find cures that will drive business. Driven by the implications of patent loss, rising research and development costs and declining return on investment, downward pricing pressure and other factors, the lief sciences industry is regrouping to increase productivity and business performance.

Regional headquarters still play a role for many organizations, but business units
are increasingly being centralized to maximize cost and labor-supply advantages.

Southeast Michigan Builds an Aerotropolis: Most regions have one airport from which to launch an Airport City. Advocates of the Detroit Region Aerotropolis hope its two airports and other infrastructure attributes will help the initiative take off.

Growth in the generic pharmaceutical industry is likely to become even more robust in the coming years as top-selling drugs come off patent and pressure mounts from government and healthcare providers to contain costs.

If 2013 is unlucky for the wind power industry in the U.S., it’s ready to go elsewhere.

Companies are increasingly citing fuel savings among the prime reasons for recent distribution center location decisions. One example is AWG (Associated Wholesale Grocers), a retailer-owned cooperative based in Kansas City, Kan. AWG is building its seventh grocery distribution center on a 68-acre (28-hectare) site in Pearl River, La.

Game-changing increases in natural gas supply require pipeline networks of game-changing reach and new facilities from which to export much of it to high-demand regions globally. In 2009, the United States passed Russia to become the world’s leader in natural gas production.

A look at two places where the digital media stars align: the video game industry is thriving and creating lots of high-paying jobs. Two areas that fall into this category are Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and a Utah technology corridor anchored by Salt Lake City stretching north to Ogden and south to Provo.

Hamilton is CEO of Renmatix, a young and growing producer of cellulosic sugars for the global renewable chemical and fuels markets. Working with building owner Brandywine Realty Trust, architect Pier Derrickson of KlingStubbins and contractor Hollister Construction Services, the Renmatix team just saw the completion of the headquarters fit-out.

Employment of home-based agents continues to be a growing trend in the contact center world. Some traditional brick-and-mortar contact center operators use home agents to supplement their centers, while several companies employ home agents exclusively.

Today’s corporate sustainability has a broader mandate, and a stronger focus on results. The name of the green game today is energy efficiency, cost reduction and return on investment (ROI).

Jack Lyne was an extraordinary writer who perfected his craft by agonizing over every word he wrote. He became the leading editorial voice of a generation of reporters covering the practice of corporate site selection.

India’s western state of Gujarat has long been an industrial nexus, specializing in petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and textiles.

China’s plan to build thousands of hospitals and other healthcare facilities bodes well for the medical device sector. U.K.-based consultancy Epsicom Business Intelligence says the prospects for medical device spending in China are huge as the country’s healthcare reform plan unfolds over the next several years.

John Carver, Jones Lang LaSalle's vice president for port, airport and global infrastructure, says there will be four East Coast ports ready to receive the mammoth post-panamax ships in 2014.

For those struggling to create jobs in their communities, it may pay to take up the art of real conversation with business leaders. By now, most economic developers have at least a cursory knowledge of a growing field within their profession called business retention and expansion, often referred to as “BR&E.” The concept or strategy behind BR&E is relatively simple: Concentrate your efforts on existing industry, as that will be where most newly created jobs and investment will occur.